In a modern industrial park in Anqing Economic Development Zone already bearing the "ZHIDA" logo, a batch of brand-new charging piles is rolling off the production line, ready for shipment overseas. Soon, their nameplates might quietly change, adding a new partner. On January 29, the Hong Kong-listed company ZHIDA TECH (02650) signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Anhui Chery Green Energy Ecosystem Technology Co., Ltd. ("Chery Green Energy"), a subsidiary controlled by Chery Group, announcing the joint establishment of a合资公司. This is not an ordinary memorandum of strategic cooperation, but a meticulously detailed, deeply integrated "marriage contract" with profound intentions. According to the announcement, ZHIDA TECH not only becomes a "minority shareholder" with a 40% stake, while Chery Green Energy subscribes to 12 million yuan for a 60% stake, highlighting the deep synergy logic of "shared risks and shared benefits," aiming to jointly build a full-chain ecosystem covering the R&D, production, sales, and global service of smart charging equipment, with a core focus on automatic charging robots, AI applications in smart charging technology, and the large-scale deployment of smart charging technologies. While the capital markets were still relishing ZHIDA's previous success in securing an order from the Qatari government, this leading charging pile company has quietly made an even bolder move. This move, seemingly an exchange of "technology for market access," is actually a strategic gamble to secure a certain future as the new energy refueling war enters its second half. The dual-wheel-driven "light-asset" model for global expansion represents a new paradigm. As a leader in the global smart charging and green digital energy sector, ZHIDA TECH has established significant barriers in core technologies such as automatic charging robots, integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging systems, and high-power DC fast charging; its AI intelligent scheduling algorithms further enable efficient operation and maintenance of charging piles and intelligent load distribution, significantly enhancing the operational efficiency of the refueling network. As the partner, Chery Group boasts a vehicle sales network covering over 80 countries, with deep roots particularly in key Belt and Road regions like the Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, achieving overseas sales exceeding 700,000 units in 2025 and firmly ranking among the top three Chinese brands for exports. This合资 is centered on the core logic of "smart charging technology + global channel network": ZHIDA contributes production lines, technology, and its global service network, focusing on licensing mass-production technology for automatic charging robots and the operational capabilities of its AI charging cloud platform; Chery provides brand endorsement, end-user scenarios, and access to overseas markets. Crucially, while the合资公司 is 60% controlled by Chery Green Energy, it will prioritize leasing production capacity from ZHIDA TECH's factories. This approach allows ZHIDA to achieve capacity expansion in a "light-asset" manner: it not only reduces the capital investment risks associated with ZHIDA's overseas expansion but also helps Chery Group fill the gap in charging infrastructure – enabling large-scale production of the合资公司's smart charging equipment without the need for significant new heavy investment. This model significantly lowers the risks of going global and provides a replicable template for internationalization for other Chinese tech companies. "This looks more like an integrated solution output of 'technology licensing + manufacturing services + global expansion support'," a资深汽车零部件行业分析师 noted, "In this move, ZHIDA appears to be proactively ceding some control over the合资公司, exchanging its leading automatic charging robot technology and AI smart charging system for strategic recognition from an industrial giant, thereby gaining long-term, substantial order channels and a fast track to global markets. For a growing company, the priorities of scale and market position can sometimes outweigh complete control over a single business line." The合资公司's strategic ambitions extend far beyond domestic borders. The announcement explicitly states that it will leverage Chery Auto's overseas channels to "achieve a closed-loop experience where charging points arrive with the vehicles and are ready to use upon arrival." This implies that in the future, in places like Doha, Qatar; São Paulo, Brazil; and Cairo, Egypt, alongside the delivery of Chery electric vehicles,配套的 ZHIDA smart charging piles, or even automatic charging robots, will be deployed simultaneously. This "vehicle-charging point synergy" strategy is highly forward-thinking. In the past, Chinese automakers' global expansion was often hampered by lagging refueling infrastructure. Now, by embedding the refueling system into the vehicle export process through the合资公司, they not only enhance the user experience but also build a competitive moat. Especially in emerging markets with unstable power grids and high labor costs, automatic charging robots, AI scheduling systems, and integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging solutions can significantly reduce operational difficulties, aligning well with local practical needs. It is worth noting that just weeks ago, ZHIDA signed a memorandum of cooperation with a subsidiary of Qatar's Ministry of Transport to implement demonstration stations for integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging and automatic charging robot projects. The合资 with Chery will undoubtedly accelerate the commercial replication of this solution in the Middle East – Chery already has a mature dealer network in the region, while ZHIDA provides the technological foundation; combined, they are poised to rapidly capture the high ground in electric mobility infrastructure in the Gulf states. On a deeper level, the significance lies in standards export. As Chinese automakers transition from product export to technology export, the cooperation between ZHIDA and Chery will promote "Intelligent Chinese Manufacturing" charging solutions to participate in setting global new energy refueling standards. This is not just about overtaking traditional European and American automotive powers on a curve; it is about systematically empowering the green transportation transition in Global South countries. Since its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2025, ZHIDA TECH has consistently garnered capital favor due to its technological barriers and global layout. As of January 29, 2026, the company's market capitalization had reached HKD 18.67 billion, with revenue for the first three months of 2025 growing 28.5% year-on-year; it is the world's largest provider of home charging solutions for electric vehicles, holding approximately 9% of the global market share. Since the second half of 2025, alongside a recovery in sentiment towards the new energy sector, ZHIDA TECH's stock price has accumulated gains of over 80%. Following the announcement of the合资, the market widely expects its 2026 revenue to receive stable support from locked-in component orders and overseas revenue-sharing mechanisms. From a macro perspective, the cooperation with Chery Green Energy further strengthens ZHIDA TECH's narrative of "technology export + ecosystem co-construction," and it is also a microcosm of the Chinese new energy industry's "system export." Over the past decade, China has achieved self-sufficiency and control over the entire industrial chain, from batteries and motors to complete vehicles; now, it is pushing this efficient, low-cost, highly adaptable industrial ecosystem to the world. The合资 between ZHIDA and Chery is a typical representative of the integrated "vehicle-charging point-energy-network" solution. It exports not just products, but also standards, services, and business models. When Chery electric vehicles equipped with custom "Exeed" piles drive into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, behind them lies the intelligent manufacturing from the Anqing factory, algorithm scheduling from Hefei, and energy storage microgrids in Doha – this is a green value chain led by China, and a participant defining new rules. The hum of machinery in the Anqing factory continues, but the story at the end of the production line has been rewritten. From Shanghai to Anqing, and from Anqing to Doha, the cooperation between ZHIDA TECH and Chery Green Energy, while seemingly just the birth of a合资公司, is in fact the prologue to a global restructuring of green transportation infrastructure. In this transformation, Chinese companies are no longer followers, but ecosystem builders. When automatic charging robots precisely plug into electric buses under the desert sun, and when photovoltaic-storage-charging microgrids support all-weather mobility in Latin American towns – the world will see that China's contribution is not just production capacity, but sustainable answers for the future. And this, perhaps, is the most proud posture for "Intelligent Chinese Manufacturing" as it goes global.
Comments